Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

¹² Happy is the nation whose God is the Lord. Happy are the people He has chosen for His own.

¹³ The Lord looks from heaven. He sees all the sons of men. ¹⁴ From where He sits He looks upon all who live on the earth. ¹⁵ He made the hearts of them all. And He understands whatever they do. ¹⁶ No king is saved by the power of his strong army. A soldier is not saved by great strength. ¹⁷ A horse cannot be trusted to win a battle. Its great strength cannot save anyone.

¹⁸ See, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him, and on those who hope for His loving-kindness, ¹⁹ to save their soul from death, and to keep them alive when there is nothing to eat. ²⁰ Our soul waits for the Lord. He is our help and our safe cover. ²¹ For our heart is full of joy in Him, because we trust in His holy name. ²² O Lord, let Your loving-kindness be upon us as we put our hope in You.

The Garden of Eden

⁴ This is the story of the heavens and the earth when they were made, in the day the Lord God made the earth and the heavens. ⁵ Now no bush of the field was yet on the earth. And no plant of the field had started to grow. For the Lord God had not sent rain upon the earth. And there was no man to work the ground. ⁶ But a fog came from the earth and watered the whole top of the ground. ⁷ Then the Lord God made man from the dust of the ground. And He breathed into his nose the breath of life. Man became a living being.

⁴² It is the same with people who are raised from the dead. The body will turn back to dust when it is put in a grave. When the body is raised from the grave, it will never die. ⁴³ It has no greatness when it is put in a grave, but it is raised with shining-greatness. It is weak when it is put in a grave, but it is raised with power. ⁴⁴ It is a human body when it dies, but it is a God-like body when it is raised from the dead. There are human bodies and there are God-like bodies. ⁴⁵ The Holy Writings say, “The first man, Adam, became a living soul.” But the last Adam (Christ) is a life-giving Spirit.

⁴⁶ We have these human bodies first. Then we are given God-like bodies that are ready for heaven. ⁴⁷ Adam was the first man. He was made from the dust of the earth. Christ was the second man. He came down from heaven. ⁴⁸ All men of the earth are made like Adam. But those who belong to Christ will have a body like the body of Christ Who came from heaven. ⁴⁹ Now, our bodies are like Adam’s body. But in heaven, our bodies will be like the body of Christ.